Water Fluoridation Up For Debate in Des Moines, Iowa

The Des Moines Water Works is asking concerned citizens to weigh in on the practice of adding fluoride to the city’s water supply.

Last month, the independently operated public utility provider, which services “approximately 500,000 people in the Greater Des Moines area,” began asking the public “to submit written comments and/or information” supporting or opposing the adding of the chemical hydrofluosilicic acidto drinking water.

“While several scientific associations, including the American Dental Association, the U.S. Public Health Service, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and the American Medical Association, are supportive of fluoridation to improve dental health, others have questioned the scientific and policy basis for fluoridation, citing research that points to adverse health consequences from fluoride exposure,” the Des Moines Water Works’ website states.

The utility is currently taking comments until the end of November, after which its staff will present reports to the Water Works’ Board of Trustees on two separate days in December.

Over 200 comments have flooded the Water Works website with a vast majority of them supporting the removal of fluoride from the city’s tap water.

“Fluoride is a poison when ingested. To do any good it needs to be applied directly on teeth. I have been filtering it out for years. Fluoride should NOT be added to our water,” one commenter notes.

“I hope you make the best decision on this, but it seems to me that adding this toxin to our water can only jeopardize the public health more than it helps,” another person states, adding, “We get fluoride from toothpaste, which is not ingested. Adding this to our water supply can only increase the chance of illnesses such as cancer, nervous problems, etc.”

Critics of fluoridation link to several studies that demonstrate the detrimental effects fluoride has on IQ, such as the Harvard study produced last year that found “strong indications that fluoride may adversely affect cognitive development in children.” Pro-fluoride fanatics later attacked the study’s science claiming it only found that fluoride affects the neurodevelopment of children in China.

However, other commenters support the adding of the corrosive chemical to municipal water supplies.

“I’m in favor of keeping it in the water. I think the good it does far out ways the bad it might potentially do,” another commenter states, despite the fact that the Material Safety Data Sheet uploaded by the Des Moines Water Works lists hydrofluosilicic acid as a corrosive chemical of which large doses have the potential to cause “nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal burning, and cramp-like pains,” in addition to its vapors being able to cause “severe irritation to the lungs, nose and throat. If swallowed,” the MSDS says, “it can cause severe damage to throat and stomach.”

Indeed, when hydroflusilicic acid was spilled outside of one water utility facility in Illinois, it began eating through concrete and required a team of men in hazmat suits to clean it up, as another commenter also noted.

Hydrofluorosilicic Acid is the toxic chemical sold to cities to fluoridate their water supplies. It is a by-product of the phosphate fertilizer industry. Looks like Rock Islanders were lucky the spill happened at the treatment plant and not while it was driving through their neighborhoods.

If Des Moines Water Works’ Board of Trustees does decide to ban fluoride, they would not be alone. Fluoride is banned in several cities in Canada, Australia and New Zealand and in the entire continent of Europe.

While the utility may still decide not to honor the public’s request to remove the toxic chemical, the fact that they have put the issue up for debate is reassuring and should be seen as a quasi-victory for those who wish to live a more natural, healthy life. Kudos to the Des Moines Water Works.

But if the past is any indicator, fluoride’s days in Des Moines are numbered. According to FluorideAlert.org, “In [water fluoridation's] 60+ year history, the majority of U.S. communities that have had an opportunity to vote on the measure have rejected it.”

Anyone wanting to learn more on “how hazardous waste ended up in our drinking water” should check out the book, “The Case Against Fluoride,” conveniently available at the Infowars Store.

The Venus Project Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt arts, sciences and educational public advocacy organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. - All financial contributions are 100% tax-deductible as allowed by law.